Fireproof
by Casa Circe
Summary: ESCAFLOWNE WEEK 2016 Day Two: Burning / Sacrifice. For where Dilandau Albatou's instincts are to destroy, Celena Schezar's are to protect. But in her efforts to help people, she finds that she is also constantly searching for someone amidst the flames.


**ESCAFLOWNE WEEK 2016, Day 2: BURNING / SACRIFICE**

 _ **Fireproof**_

 **NOTE: I went with the obvious route with this one because I just had to write about Dilandau and Celena, given this prompt. And not a lot really happens in this piece. Like the first one, this is more of an intimate character study.**

 **But this time, I focused more on Celena's perspective and this is yet another exploration of what her life would be life post-war and post-Dilandau.**

 **I've also taken some liberties with the effects of the Fate Alteration experiment, especially relating to Dilandau's affinity to fire. It's always fascinated me about him and I feel that this affinity would carry over to Celena even when she is living on her own.**

 **I'm not sure what kind of Fire Department exists on Gaea but you can be sure that Celena would be the head of that department, at least in this interpretation. A bit dark but with some hope at the end, at least. I mean, there weren't a lot of "happy" ways such a prompt was going to go anyway, right?**

 **Hozier's song, Arsonist's Lullabye, was also the inspiration for this piece, as I feel like it also matches Dilandau's story so well.**

 **Enjoy!**

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She still sees him every now and then.

Not in the mirror, as some would imagine. She only ever sees her reflection in looking glasses, since he would never assert his identity on hers in such an overt manner. These had been a silent but binding agreement between them during that crucial moment of separation.

No, when she sees him, it is a mix of memory and her own wishes manifested. And when she sees him, it is always in his element.

A flash of his red eyes in the flickering candlelight. That familiar, intense gaze in the embers of the fireplace. A glimpse of his cocky smirk in the flames of a torch. The face of an old friend in the fire.

After all, she is the closest thing to a friend he will ever have. And for so many years, Celena had kept him safe.

No one knew this and she is well aware that she will never be able to explain this to anyone. They simply would not understand that bizarre relationship of two souls sharing one body.

But when the Zaibach sorcerers had imposed Dilandau's personality over Celena, she had put up a fight. But when she knew she was defeated, she decided that she would somehow protect this new person, this strange, intense extension of herself. For her to stay alive, she had to watch over them both.

Dilandau had not always been aware of it, but in his darkest moments, it was Celena's consciousness that kept him afloat. It was she who comforted him whenever his nightmares threatened to destroy what little peace he had left. It was she who had helped him maintain his tenuous grip on his sanity.

And in the end, it was he who had decided to step down, to finally give her back the life that was taken from her. During that decisive battle, both of them had stood in some sort of inferno, immersed in the element that had made him so deadly and also unstable. No words had been necessary between them.

Only one of them could live. A trade had to be made. And it was Dilandau Albatou who had retreated into the shadows in order for Celena Schezar to step into the light, the light that had been denied her for ten long years.

But some parts of him linger still, the side-effects of the Fate Alteration. In the Sorcerers' desire to build an ideal soldier, they had made Dilandau Albatou impervious to fire. This was one reason the flamethrower had been his weapon of choice and why he was always fascinated with fire. Being immune to its destructive power, he could never fully understand the extent of damage he caused on others.

And it had not taken long for Celena to realize that she still possessed this quality. She could place her hand directly above a candle and feel nothing. Even larger and hotter fires have no damaging effect on her. Fire cannot harm Celena Schezar.

She sighs when she thinks of this, her enduring armor. In his own way, he is protecting her from harm, the way she had always helped pull him back from the edge. She is grateful not only for the protection but also for the constant reminder of her old companion. And she is even more grateful when she is able to use this ability to help people.

For where Dilandau Albatou's instincts are to destroy, Celena Schezar's are to protect.

And so she has no second thoughts about running into a burning building to save a screaming child or a helpless servant. Even after the war, serious accidents occur on a regular basis, and not everyone is well-equipped to handle them. So many people still need saving.

People give her strange looks when she emerges unscathed from a conflagration. But she offers no explanation, only selfless service, coming to the aid of all those in need. Her brother is reluctant at first, to let her get involved in such perilous situations. But he soon learns that she takes no orders from anyone. She has lived in captivity for far too long.

So Celena plunges fearlessly into every available fire. But in her efforts to help people, she finds that she is also constantly searching for someone amidst the flames. But the person she seeks is never really there and she catches only glimpses of him in his element. In their element.

No matter how painful the past is, she refuses to forget it completely. Because he is such an important part of those lost years, of who she was and who she is shaping to be.

Celena knows that he still lives in her somehow. She knows about the things he has done but she believes he still deserves a life of his own. And she believes that there must be a way for both of them to exist in the world, and she is determined to find it.

There is fire enough in Gaea for them both.


End file.
